Lee Sharpe looks at recent tax developments that affect houses in multiple occupation.
Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) typically comprise several separate rooms or ‘units’ occupied by independent tenants, but sharing common amenities. In some cases, a tenant may have their own bathroom and even ‘kitchenette’; in other scenarios, the individual rooms might be less well furbished and share kitchen, bathroom and living room facilities.
HMOs are typically developed from large dwelling houses, and the extent to which the property may have been adapted for multi-occupancy use can vary significantly from one HMO to another. The landlord may let rooms independently, but will typically sell the entire freehold as a single asset.
The question of whether an HMO comprises a single dwelling or several can be important for tax purposes – potentially with a different answer for different
